History of California Zeta

The Phi Delta Theta Chapter at California State University, Northridge, internally known as California Zeta, has a long and rich history which dates back to a time when the University was still known as San Fernando Valley State College. During this period, Phi Sigma Tau was a strong local fraternity whose members wanted to become affiliated with a respectable international fraternity. The choice was clear to them, and so the group, with help from the Dean of Students, worked hard to petition Phi Delta Theta for a charter. On April 22, 1967 the Chapter was installed as the 6th of Phi Delta Theta in California.

In 1975, the Chapter became one of the first fraternities at CSUN to own a house, and is the only one to have a conditional use permit to operate as such.

Many successful men have come out of California Zeta, including former President of the General Council, Chris Lapple, and former member of the General Council, Stan Gilson. Some have gone on to become CEOs of various companies, and others have gone on to successful careers in business, public service, law, medicine, and more.

The Chapter continues to help young men develop personally, academically, and professionally by instilling the principles of friendship, sound learning, and moral rectitude.

History of Phi Delta Theta

As the Christmas holidays approached in 1848, the atmosphere on the campus of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio was gloomy and uncertain. As a result of the "Snowball Rebellion," Beta Theta Pi and Alpha Delta Phi had been expelled from Miami. A somber mood prevailed when Robert Morrison suggested to a close friend and classmate, John McMillan Wilson, that they consider putting together a new collegiate brotherhood.

Morrison and Wilson, thinking in terms of providing a permanent base with growth potential, sought out underclassman that they believed they would be dedicated to their cause. Thus, juniors John Wolfe Lindley and Robert Thompson Drake were approached, as were sophomores Ardivan Walker Rodgers and Andrew Watts Rogers, all of whom accepted the concept.

All six men were among a group of Miami students who did not attempt to go home to join their families for the Christmas holidays. Winter travel conditions were difficult and could often prove perilous due to harsh winter conditions.

A desire for close companionship was evident when the six met the night of December 26, 1848 in Wilson’s second floor room in Old North Hall, directly above Morrison’s room. There they firmed-up their desire to establish a brotherhood.

They met two nights later in the same room to consider an appropriate motto and constitution. Morrison and Wilson put the consensus of these ideas into the prose which became The Bond of the Phi Delta Theta. It is this same Bond which every initiate into Phi Delta Theta has signed ever since.

On December 30, the "Immortal Six" put their signatures to The Bond of the Phi Delta Theta in Wilson’s room. Their names remain a vital part of the rituals that continue today in every chapter room across the United States and Canada. The Bond has remained unchanged from that day to this. So far as is known, it is the only document of any fraternity of such a character, and it is easy to understand the veneration with which all members of Phi Delta Theta regard it.

The second chapter of Phi Delta Theta was established at Indiana University in October of 1849 and other chapters followed at Centre College and Wabash College. The real growth occurred during the two decades from 1870 to 1890, due principally to the efforts of Walter B. Palmer, Emory-Vanderbilt 1877, and George Banta, Franklin-Indiana 1876. The two were given the title "Second Founders" for their work.